She's MY Best Friend
by The candy man 234
Summary: When Mufasa decides to host a peace celebration between the Pride Lands and the Mountain Lands, the cubs are introduced to a new cub, Tama. However, Simba wants to let her know that Nala is HIS best friend. Will his jealousy tear apart the gang?
1. A Celebration

**AN: WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! Yay, I'm back with my own content after a couple months. It feels good to continue to progress my series. For those of you who don't know after I completed Kula's Game of love, I took a break for a while to collaborate with my good friends Kiara902 and Rouge Lion on a story called** _ **In a Perfect World.**_ **It's posted on Rouge Lion's profile and I highly recommend checking it out. He's an amazing writer.**

 **While I'm on the subject Rouge Lion is also my Beta-Reader so of course, I have to give him a massive thanks for helping me with this story. It greatly improves my content and overall confidence as a writer. So yeah he's da best!**

 **Anyways enough boring you let's get on with this story!**

* * *

 _The brilliant orange light of the evening sky basked in the Pride Lands, as the sun started its descent into the African Savannah. The clouds brightened as corners of the sky darkened, exposing the moon and the many stars of the night sky. The Pride Lands was considered one of the most beautiful places in all of Africa and sunset was the highlight of its true splendor._

 _Despite all that Simba considered only one thing to be more beautiful than his home, and that was his best friend Nala. The two cubs were sitting in a special little spot that their friend Kula had found a while back. It was a small den that was out in the middle of nowhere next to some acacia trees. It was definitely a beautiful place to relax and get away from everything._

 _The trees around the inner walls of the hideout were covered in blooming orange flowers. They swayed from side to side as the wind blew into the cavern making the orange petals swirl filling with a pleasant fragrance. Simba had to admit that even though he would rather be out on an adventure, being alone with his best friend and this amazing little den was fun. Nala seemed to think so as well._

 _The lioness cub had her head resting on Simba's golden shoulder, softly nuzzling and rubbing her cheek along his rough, fuzzy, golden pelt. Eventually, she released a low purr from the bottom of her throat. Simba noticed it and his eyes drifted over to the cream lioness._

 _"Is someone purring?" Simba teased. Nala giggled and then moved her head underneath his chin, Simba melting into the nuzzle as well._

 _"Simba… I got to tell you something important," Nala said looking up at her best friend, her teal eyes meeting Simba's amber ones, "I've had a crush on you for ages! I just love everything about you. Your adventurous personality, your eyes and your tail, and especially the cute little mane on your head." Nala then reached up and started to stroke the tuft gently with her light cream paw. Raking her claws through the rough golden fur._

 _"Nala! Don't mess it up!" Simba softly giggled. Nala made a huff of annoyance and sat herself up eyeing Simba with a mischievous toothy grin. Nala then abruptly pounced upon the prince, causing Simba to let out a sudden gasp as he began to playfully grapple with Nala. The two tussled in the soft green blades of grass laughing in bliss until eventually, Nala was on top of Simba pinning him down. Her cream muzzle cracked a smile gazing at the golden lion cub._

 _The two stayed in the pinned position for a couple minutes, both admiring the lion before them. Nala cocked her head to the right, her eyelids lowering._

 _"What?" Simba asked looking back up at her_

 _"You're so cute you know that?" Nala said pushing Simba down further into the grass. Simba tried to push up but Nala persisted her muzzle leaning in closer to Simba._

 _"Nala, what are you-" Simba started._

 _"Shhhhhh," Nala said pressing her paw to Simba's muzzle. The then continued to lean in bringing their faces closer and closer until they were almost touching. Simba could feel his heart pounding, his blood pumping, his head spinning, and his face heating up. Nala paused for a single moment. She then leaned in and then-_

* * *

Simba gasped as he sprung up from his dream in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily turning his head rapidly to check his surroundings. After a couple seconds Simab realized that he wasn't being pinned by Nala about to share a romantic moment it was only a dream.

"Phew," Simba sighed with relief but at the same time was disappointed that the dream wasn't finished when he woke up. His golden, cheeks flushed red at the thought of what would have happened next.

"I need to get some fresh air." Simba told himself. The prince slowly stood up and stretched his limbs out hearing slight pops as the joints and muscles awoke for the day ahead. He gingerly made his way through the mass of lionesses, being careful not to step on anyone until he reached the mouth of the den. He was greeted by the rising sun of the savannah. Golden rays piercing through the wispy white clouds and illuminating the Pride Lands for the start of another day.

The quiet moment allowed Simba's mind to wander through various thoughts. Eventually, his mind centered on Nala.

Simba gave out a sigh of frustration as last week's events came into his mind.

Last week Kula held a competition in an attempt to swipe more food from the lionesses by having Chumvi, Tojo, and himself compete for a date with Nala. The events whisked up a flurry of emotions in Simba head eventually amounting to his realization that he had a crush on his best friend, Nala.

Throughout the week anxiety was continuously rushing in and out of his body in a desperate attempt to not give away his crush.

Even with everything that had happened Nala's reaction to him winning the date surprised him the most. On that night the two of them were nuzzling in Kula's little hideout during the sunset. That alone was enough of a shock to the young prince but then Nala embraced him and licked his cheek before falling asleep next to him.

The young cub didn't know how to interpret her affection. Was his feeling being returned or was it only one time and never again?

 _"I still don't get it,"_ the prince thought to himself, _"In any case… at least she's still my best friend. Nothing will change that."_

"Whatcha thinking about?" A voice suddenly said from behind.

"Gah!" Simba's fur stood up on end as his concentration was shattered. He turned his head around to see Nala sitting still her tail curled around her cream paws and a smile began to crack along her muzzle.

"Scared ya?" Nala chuckled.

"No!" Simba defended himself as his fur still bristled along his back, "I was just… thinking."

"I could tell," Nala said standing up and taking a step towards Simba. His heart starting to pound wildly in his chest. Why out of all the cubs it had to be Nala to catch him daydreaming?

"Is there something wrong, Simba?" Nala asked as her eyebrows curved upward to form a concerned expression on her face.

"No, everything is fine." Simba quickly answered as he gave her a smug smile, "I was just thinking about how one day I'll rule all of the Pride Lands." Upon hearing this Nala groaned and rolled her eyes. She should have expected this from him.

"That's my Simba." She giggled and shook her head before turning around and padding off, not even noticing Simba's relieved expression.

 _"Thank the Great Spirits she bought it,"_ Simba thought to himself watching Nala's figure grow smaller and smaller.

* * *

By the early afternoon, the lionesses left Pride Rock to hunt. Deciding that it would be a perfect opportunity to spend time with her daughter, Sarafina took Nala and Kula along with her so they could begin learning how to hunt. Nala was excited because of her excellent record with pouncing.

Kula was equally excited because once she learned how to hunt, she could have all the food she wanted.

Simba was initially relieved that he wouldn't have to share another awkward moment with the cream lioness until later that day. However, he didn't take into account how boring it was not having Nala with him.

For the next few hours, Simba and his friends, Chumvi and Tojo rested underneath the shade of an acacia tree. Tojo's flock of bluebirds also joined them, but instead of resting they just began swirling around their heads. One of them happened to have a nasty habit of landing on Chumvi's head and pecking out fur with his beak.

"OW!" Chumvi cried out while the bluebird obliviously nested himself in his fur, "Tojo get it off my head or I swear I'm going to eat it!"

Tojo bent down and cupped his ginger paws around the bird lifting him from Chumvi's head taking strands of fur with it.

"It's not his fault," Tojo defended the bird, "he didn't mean it. He's just going through a beaking stage." Tojo then brought his muzzle closer to his bird and cooed: "Isn't that right wittle buddy? Chumvi's just being grumpy-wumpy like always."

Simba rolled his eyes at the scene while the banter between the two was entertaining after an hour it had gotten quite stale.

"Hey, when are the girls coming back?" Simba asked plopping himself down on the grass.

"Pshh who cares," Chumvi said with the wave of his brown paw, "besides, the longer Kula stays away from me the better."

"What do you mean?" Simba asked perching his head on top of his forearms.

"Remember last week she stayed latched onto my side for two days?" Chumvi reminded. The boys then thought back to after Kula's nerve-racking game.

* * *

 **Last Week.**

Tojo, Simba, and Nala were lounging at the waterhole during a warm afternoon. The atmosphere called for a perfect lazy day, nothing to do but sit back, relax and-

"HELP!" a voice cried out. The three cubs turned their head up to see Chumvi clawing into the ground and dragging his body along the ground. All the while a lovesick Kula was latched onto the lower half of his body and was squeezing the life out of him.

"Oh, my sweet little chocolate cocoa bean, don't be that way," Kula said as she nuzzled her head into Chumvi's side, "your confession on stage has only made my love for you increase, and I will never let you go till death do us part!"

"UGHHH! I give up!" Chumvi cried and face planted into the ground.

From the shores of the waterhole, the three cubs kept observing the scene in front of them. It was funny at first, but the fact that it was still going on made them wonder whether they should still laugh, or feel sorry for their friend.

"Umm...Should we, like, help him?" Tojo asked raising his eyebrows.

"Trust me as a person who knows how intense Kula gets, it's best not to get involved," Nala said.

"Then what do we do?" Simba asked.

"Just observe how beautiful yet scary love can be," Nala stated.

"If this is love," Simba said in a worried voice, "How will she be when she hits puberty?"

All of the cubs shuttered at the thought.

* * *

"Well, eventually she had to eat." Tojo commented, "Still, it is a miracle that she finally decided to let go of you."

"No thanks to you," Chumvi retorted.

Before another bickering session could break out Simba snuck his way out of the acacia tree and back to Pride Rock. Feeling the grass beneath the pads of his paws Simba took the time to admire the almost commanding presence of Pride Rock. It's massive figure stood out from the wide plains and grasslands. It's almost an intimidating thought that he would inherit it all.

 **CRASH**

Simba's dazed state was disrupted by a loud crashing noise coming from Pride Rock. Curious, he quickly padded up the pathway to the den. The golden cub soon reached the entrance of the pride hearing the scraping of rocks against the floor of the den. He peeked his head in to see, his father, Mufasa pushing a large rock while, his mother, Sarabi was standing on the sidelines.

"Very good, dear. Just a couple more should do it," Sarabi said to her mate. Mufasa huffed as he pushed the large boulder from the interior of the den and it was sent sliding down the pathway landing with a thud raising dust into the air before it settled again.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Simba asked coming out from behind the wall of the opening.

"Nothing much, son, I'm just renovating the den," Mufasa said.

"Renovating?" Simba questioned as he sat down, "Why are you clearing out so many rocks?.

"Well we are just clearing space in the main den for the royal guest den," Sarabi explained to her son.

" _We?_ " Mufasa interrupted, his amber eyes turning to Sarabi.

"Yes, _we_." Sarabi said with a smirk, "I'm doing the most important part. I'm supervising." This answer left the king rolling his eyes in annoyance while Simba just looked at his parents with both excitement and curiosity.

"Well, who coming over that is causing you to move around these rocks?" Simba asked. Mufasa and Sarabi exchanged glances with each other. Sarabi then gestured to Simba with her brown paw, letting Mufasa know that this was something that he should take care of. Typical.

"I think it's a perfect time for a lesson, Simba," Mufasa turned to face the small golden cub. The mighty king then stood up walking out of the mouth of the cave with Simba following in toe. The pair walked down the path of Pride Rock and around the base of the landmark. Mufasa then stopped at a curtain of vines that covered a small cave.

"What is this Dad?" Simba asked.

"This is where the Pride Lands's history is kept," Mufasa explained.

"Really?" Simba questioned, a bit confused by what his father said, "But I thought you said Rafiki keeps the history of the Pride Lands."

"Rafiki keeps our _family_ history in his tree," Mufasa once again explained to his son, "but anything pertaining to the Pride Lands and previous dynasties is kept here." He pulled away the curtain of vines to reveal a large cave. Its dark stone walls covered in paintings and etchings made from scratch marks of claws.

"Woah," Simba said in awe as he walked into the cave. In the walls were hundreds of impressions carved into the rock. Each containing multiple images of the past kings along with lines of claw scratches under them.

"See, Simba, for generations the Kings of the Pride Lands recorded our history through painting on the walls of the caves and invented special claw markings to describe events that happened in the past." Mufasa smiled as she watched his son run up to the wall to get a better look at the drawings, "Every Royal family member will learn how to interpret the inscriptions but for now I will tell you the story of our relationship with the Mountain Lands."

Mufasa then scanned through the various images and markings strewn about on the walls eventually stopping on one. He motioned Simba to the part of the wall. The painting was that of two lion prides facing each other with the respective kings in front of the borders of the Pride Lands and the Mountain Lands.

"Long ago, when I was a cub, The Pride Lands were at war. The four kingdoms of the savannah were locked in territorial battle, competing over each other for resources and prey. At the time my father whose name was Ahadi was the Lion King. One of the northern Kingdoms

neighboring the Mountain Lands was ruled by an aggressive monarch who was overhunting the prey of his kingdom in an effort to demonstrate that lions were the dominant species. He killed many great creatures including hippos, buffalo, gorillas, and eventually lions. He grew in power and managed to take over the 2 smaller prides, and posed a great threat to everyone near their borders.

To be able to restore balance to the Circle of Life, my father made a peace treaty with the Mountain Lands in order to combat this rogue kingdom. Together, through strategy and sacrifice, the enemy pride was defeated and the balance was restored. It was then that a truce was set between our kingdom and the kingdom of the Mountain Lands so that nothing like that would ever happen again. As a form of celebration every year our prides visit each other to take part in festivities and a feast. The hosting pride alternates every year and this year it happens to be our turn." Mufasa finished.

The king turned around to find Simba sitting on the ground, deep in thought about all that he had heard.

"So if the Pride Lands is hosting the festivities this year…" Simba asked to make sure he understood what was going on, "then how many lions are coming over to visit?"

"The size of the visiting group varies, but this year I am expecting about half of the Mountain Lands to come, including your friend Malka." Simba eyes lit up at the sound of Malka's name. He was a very good friend of his.

"Really?! He's coming to visit tomorrow?!" The price stood up with exuberance, his tail rising above the ground of the cave.

"Yes, Simba." Mufasa chuckled at his son's response to the news. "and I believe he'll be bringing along a few other cubs from the Mountain Lands with him."

"Yay!" Simba exclaimed with glee making a toothy smile, "I can't wait to tell Nala!" The golden cub dashed out of the cave leaving clouds of brown dust trailing behind him. Mufasa chuckled when Simba was out of sight, standing up and walking out of the cave into the sunlight of the afternoon.

"I think he took it well," a sly voice suddenly said.

Mufasa turned his head to see Scar stepping out from a shadowy corner of the cave and stepping towards him. The Lion King mentally sighed when he saw the black-maned lion.

The two brothers were close friends until took Scar figured out that Mufasa was the heir to the throne. From there on Scar grew cold and distant. The king had always longed for a way to grow closer to his brother, but part of him knew that Scar was never going to change.

"I remember our first celebration of the treaty," Scar started, giving the golden male a witty grin, "you were quick to impress Nguvu as well as every girl in _both_ prides."

"I know where you are taking this conversation," Mufasa countered, earning a sour look from his brother, "We have both done things that we are not proud of. You're just as guilty as I am when it comes to making mistakes, or have you forgotten the buffalo incident already."

Scar took in a sharp inhale narrowing his eyes. He then opened his mouth to give a snarky response but then closed it.

"Touché." Scar replied dryly, "I guess we both have our own little regrets we must live with. The difference between you and I, however, is that I don't have Sarabi to remind me about it every time the peace celebration comes around."

Mufasa let out a frustrated sigh as he watched his brother walk out of the den and towards the upper dens of Pride Rock. He knew Scar just wanted him to respond. Somehow, his brother enjoyed the jeers he would make at him. Nevertheless, Mufasa had other things to worry about other than his obnoxious younger brother. Diverting his attention back to the grasslands, Mufasa began to think about the upcoming event that would take place and what he had to do in order to make it perfect for everyone.

 _"No time to lose, Mufasa." He thought to himself, "You have a celebration to host."_ The Lion King then turned around and walked towards the border of the Pride Lands his mind cleared… but anxious.

* * *

 **AN: And that concludes this chapter. I know it's a bit long but I couldn't help myself with the descriptions especially in the opening dream sequence.**

 **Also, I'm introducing the brand spanking new Guest Review Response Section! So feel free to leave a review if you have an account I'll PM you if your a guest my response will be in this section.**

 **Before I go I have one more important thing to say because of collaboration and homework/school. It will take around 7 to 14 days for a new chapter to come out. If more than 14 days go by and there isn't a new chapter go to my bio and there will be an explanation.**

 **Until next time, The Candy Man is out PEACE!**


	2. The Arrival of The Mountain Landers

**AN: Hello to all of my readers. Sorry for publishing the chapter a week late, but unfortunately my dog had passed away and I wasn't able to write anything that fit my standards at that time. Luckily I recovered quickly and started writing again.**

 **Once more thanks to Rouge Lion who is my beta reader and really helped me through that time. Go check out his works because he's like a million times better than I ever could be. Well, enough of me droning on let's get on with this story.**

Dawn was upon the Pride Lands, the night sky and the many sparkling stars above were still present, as the orange hue of the sun was peeking over the dark horizon. The dark of night offered peace and security in the grasslands and the Pride Rock area. Only the quiet chirps of morning birds scattered through the brush could be heard.

Inside the den, the lions were in deep a slumber. Faint snores of the lioness and the cubs sounded out through the cave. On the elevated rock in the den the Lion King Mufasa was peacefully sleeping next to Sarabi, his long golden chest rising and falling with each breath. Everything seemed peaceful, until.

"Dad,Dad,Dad,Dad,Dad!"

Upon hearing his son's enthusiastic cries, the king mentally sighed, " _It's too early for this…."_ Mufasa slowly opened his eyes to see his son anxiously jumping up and down with exuberance.

"Today is the day Malka and his pride are going to come see us!" Simba said excitedly.

"Yes, Simba." Mufasa yawned as he once again rested his read between his paws, "Today is the day."

"So why is everyone asleep?" Simba asked as he then began to run around his parents with excitement, "We have to get ready! They'll be here soon!" Upon hearing the pattering of feet, Mufasa scrunched up his face and once again opened his eyes to see Simba running circles around him and Sarabi.

 _"How does such a small cub have this much energy?"_ Mufasa asked himself. He didn't know how to deal with this without coming across as strict. He knew Simba was excited but this was not helping anyone. Luckily, Simba's antics woke up Sarabi as well and now she saw what needed to be done.

"Simba…" Sarabi yawned with her eyes still closed, causing the cub to stop running and look at her mother, "Malka's pride won't be here until late afternoon."

The young prince made a frown with his light muzzle and sighed disappointedly.

"Oh…" Simba sighed plopping himself down on the floor next to his parents, "Well, what am I supposed to do until then?"

"Well Simba," Sarabi suggested, "if you can relax during the morning then you can bring your friends to meet Malka's pride when they reach the border." After hearing that Simba's eared perked up and his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Okay!" Simba exclaimed, then gleefully trotting out of the den and into the morning savannah. Mufasa watched amused at his son's antics before resting comfortably once again next to Sarabi.

"Thank you." Mufasa purred gratefully into Sarabi's ears.

"All part of the job," Sarabi smiled back before they both fell asleep.

* * *

Eventually, the time came for the Pridelanders to greet their guests and by that time the kingdom was buzzing with activity. The various animals were grazing about the wide-open plains of green, as the multiple birds soared through the blue cloudless skies.

At the border between the Pride Lands and the Great Dessert, King Mufasa, Sarabi, Zazu and the five cubs, Simba, Nala, Kula, Chumvi, and Tojo were standing by the border of the Pride Lands awaiting the arrival of the Mountain Lands Pride. While the lions stood in wait, the hornbill was flying above the border scanning the ground for a sign of the approaching Pride.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the hot sun was warming the area. The cubs growing increasingly impatient.

"Ugh!" Chumvi cried out collapsing from his sitting position and lying down on the light sand, "It's been forever, are they going to show up or not?"

"Dude," Tojo stated, turning to the chocolate cub with a deadpan expression, "we've only been here for ten minutes." Chumvi snorted flicking his ears and slapping his tail against Tojo's legs.

"If I send up my birds with Zazu to help with the lookout will you relax, Chumvi," Tojo lowered his tan muzzle to meet Chumvi's and gave him a sly smirk. The brown cub didn't respond only rolling his eyes.

"Queen, Sarabi, could I send my birds up with Zazu," Tojo requested turning his head up to meet the queen's.

"Of course, Tojo," Sarabi answered. Tojo then whistled and signaled the flock of the baby birds. They saluted the tan cub before flapping their small wings, taking to the sky.

"I'm so excited!" Kula exclaimed in her peppy voice, a wide toothy grin plastered on her muzzle, "I can't wait to meet the other cubs. I hope there'll be a coupe girls."

"Why is that?" Nala asked raising her brown eyebrows.

"Oh, please," Kula responded with a wave of her brown paw, "you and I both know that hanging out with the boys becomes exhausting."

 _"But that means more competition for Simba,"_ Nala thought to herself, " _Wait… did I just say that?"_ The cream lioness's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. Ever since her realization of her crush on the golden prince, Simba, she repeatedly caught herself staring at him, as well as...other thoughts, concerning the prince. Even if it did seem like an inconvenience, from time to time, Nala wouldn't trade her crush on Simba for anyone else in the world. All his qualities form his, adventurous personality, to his soft compassionate side, and even the adorable small tuft of hair that was the start of his mane was absolutely perfect.

"Hey, guys I think I see something," Simba said gaining the attention of Nala, and the other lions.

"What is it, Simba?" Nala asked. Simba narrowed his eyes to try and make out the figures in the distance.

"It looks like a large cloud of dust approaching the border," Simba said.

"Good eyes young master!" Zazu called from above all the while the blue birds were hovering around him, "It would appear that the Mountain Lands pride are arriving at the border," the blue hornbill said.

"Wait… that dust cloud is a lion's pride?" Tojo commented, a bit surprised by the dramatic way the pride was showing up.

The cubs then murmured to themselves.

"Excellent, right on schedule," Mufasa smiled. The Lion King then stood up, along with the others, ready to greet the pride. As the pride got closer, Simba could start making out the outline of several lions, eventually, he saw a large figure that stood out from the other lions of the approaching pride, his large build and the dark almost black mane told Simba that this had to be the king of the Mountain Lands.

When the pride had reached the border the king of the pride had halted, signaling the rest of the pride to stop. Simba looked up in awe at the lion's powerful appearance that commanded respect.

For a moment, there was only silence as Mufasa and the visiting king stared each other down. Eventually, the foreign King's muzzle curved into a grin.

"Mufasa," he greeted with a smile. Mufasa's stern face then also turned into a smirk.

"Nguvu, it's great to see you again," Mufasa addressed the king. The Mountain Pride then resumed their various conversations as one by one they crossed over the border and into the Pride Lands.

"Nguvu, this is my son, Simba," Mufasa introduced his son as they were walking. Upon hearing his name Simba turned his face away from the Kings in embarrassment. Nguvu was amused at the small cub's behavior.

 _"Malka was right, he does have a standout coat,"_ Nguvu thought to himself. He then addressed Simba: "Ah, yes. Malka has told me many stories about you young one."

"All good things, right?" Simba asked looking up.

"Really Simba?" another voice suddenly spoke up, "You really think that I would come all this way to see you if I told my king bad things about you?" Simba turned around to see none other than Malka padding up to him from the large crowd of lions.

"Malka!" Simba exclaimed getting the attention of the other cubs.

"Malka! There you are!" Chumvi said exchanging a glance with Malka, "It's about time you showed up." Malka responded with a smile in response. He had missed everyone at Pride Rock and was so happy to see them all again. He was about to tell Simba how he missed him, but then another voice spoke up from the crowd of lions.

"Malka, can you wait for me for just one second!" the voice shouted. Malka's eyes lowered, as he made an annoyed expression, then turning around to see a tan cub running toward him.

She had a light cream coat like that of Nala's with light brown eyes and a small tuft of hair on the top of her rounded head. The cub caught up to Malka letting out a huff of annoyance.

"Must you always speed up," She said as she stalked over to him, "you just took off without even giving me a warning." Upon seeing the newcomer, the Pride Lands's cubs were interested in what they saw.

"Malka, who's your friend?" Kula asked in interest.

"Oh right! Guy's I'd like you to mee- mmph!" before Malka could say anything more, the cream cub smacked her paw against his muzzle silencing him.

"The name's Tama, the daughter of the King's advisor," She spoke up giving a quick glance to Malka before looking back at the five cubs of the Pride Lands. This confused Malka greatly. Why did she just do that to him? That was abnormal of her.

"Hi!" Kula greeted Tama in a chipper tone, "I'm, Kula, and this is, Chumvi, Tojo, Nala, and the prince of the Pride Lands, Simba." The brown lioness said, each cub giving a quick wave, or grin when hearing their name. Tama only nodded when greeted by each person before they continued to make their way towards the rock landmark.

"I'm so excited to start the celebration!" Malka cleared his throat and stepped back into the conversation, "my dad said that this year will be even better because more of my pride has agreed to take part in the celebration this year." The other cubs murmured in agreement as they made their way back to Pride Rock, the celebration had begun.

* * *

By the time the sun was setting the lionesses of the Pride Lands were making their way back from the evening hunt. According to tradition a feast consisting of antelope, impala, zebra, and wildebeest was to be served for all to enjoy. While it is an abundance of food the considerable number of lions called for a surplus of meat.

Sarafina and Sarabi were leading the hunting party back from the hunt. Both lionesses were exhausted from hunting the various animals. Trudging along the dry grass of the African savannah, Sarafina started to make conversation with the queen.

"I can still remember our first celebration," Sarafina spoke getting the attention of Sarabi, "Nguvu was a wild spirit, he kinda reminds me of how Simba is now."

Sarabi's tan muzzle lifted into a smile, "I still chuckle when I remember how brave Mufasa acted to win the hearts of the other cubs," Sarabi reminisced. The two lionesses exchanged smirks with each other.

"All the girls wanted a piece of him," Saraina commented, "luckily he picked the right gal. I can't imagine any other lioness more fit to be the queen of the Pride Lands." The pack of lionesses then continued to make their way back to Pride Rock.

In the den of Pride Rock, the adult lions were waiting outside while the cubs remained in the den. Of the Mountain Lands Malka, Tama and 5 other cubs made the journey with their parents. To pass the time the cubs took turns playing pinned ya, as well as other games.

Of course, rough housing was never an activity for Tojo. The ginger cub sat on the ground of the den with the flock of bluebirds nestled around his tail.

"Why do you have pet birds?" Tama asked. Tojo looked up to see the lioness cub standing above him, "wouldn't be better just to eat them?" The blue birds shuffled anxiously hiding behind Tojo's body.

"I could never do that," Tojo responded, "their too cute to eat." Tama didn't respond to Tojo's defense only puffing her hair tuft from blocking her eyes.

"That's so weird," Tama commented, Tojo then looked down embarrassed and saddened by her blunt statement.

"Well I say that normal is boring," a voice interjected the conversation. Both cubs turned around to see Kula padding towards the two of them. She then stood behind Tojo with her brown arm wrapped around the ginger male's back. This made Tojo's light cheeks flush crimson.

"If Tojo wants to have pet birds then there's nothing wrong with that. The king has a bird of his own. Tojo has 5. What do you say to that?" Kula said narrowing her eyes at the light cream cub that stood before her.

"Whatever," Tama said before walking away with her long tail low to the ground as she sauntered along the den floor. When she was out of earshot Tojo turned to face Kula in shock. Eventually, he mustered up the courage to speak to her.

"Thanks for defending me, Kula." Tojo managed to squeak out. Kula rolled her eyes and looked at the tan ginger cub.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right?" Kula said cracking a smile. She then slowly moved her right paw behind Tojo's back reaching for one of the baby blue birds. Even if Tojo was her friend, Kula couldn't deny that she loved a free meal even more.

Luckily Tojo caught on to her act, "Don't even think about." he simply stated. The brown lioness cub then quickly swiped her paw behind her back, and then flashed a nervous smile.

"Hehe," She nervously laughed.

* * *

When the lionesses arrived at Pride Rock the feast could finally begin. The various lions from both prides gathered around the base of Pride Rock awaiting the call from King Mufasa.

The cubs were gathered closest to the den, anxiously awaiting. Of course, Kula was impatient staring at the food that was presented in front of her.

"Kula you have to restrain yourself," Nala said at the brown lioness cub. Drool was starting to from in the corners of her mouth.

"I can't help it! I'm so hungry… I gotta have a wildebeest!" Kula cried out she then launched herself at the pile of food. Luckily Nala's fast reflexes acted and the cream lioness managed to tackle Kula and successfully pin her to the floor. Kula squirmed under Nala's weight.

"Nala, let me up!" Kula pleaded desperately trying to push her up. The roar of Mufasa interrupted the interaction between the girls. This signaled the start of the feast, once this happened Kula took advantage of the distraction and used her might to push Nala off. The cream cub landed on the floor with an oof as Kula sprinted at the pile of prey with full speed.

Nala lifted her head in confusion, not once had any other cub pushed her off from a pin, how Kula managed to do it was a complete mystery to her.

"So… Nala, right?" Nala looked back to see the new cub Tama and looked intrigued, "have you started training for hunting yet?"

"Yes, I have, the game of Pinned Ya' definitely helps," Nala replied.

"Yeah she has a perfect track record," Simba suddenly stepped in and interjected, Tama looked back at the golden prince with annoyance.

"I'm sorry was someone talking to you?" was Tama's snarky remark. Simba was taken aback by her harsh comment but chose not to push any further.

Simba didn't care who Tama thought she was, she just talked to Nala and was rude to him. As of now, he didn't like her one bit.

 **AN: and this concludes the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed! Because Finals for me is next week I'm estimating a 2 to 3-week space between this and the next chapter. So bear with me and wish me luck!**


	3. Tama the Terrible

**Authors Note: Finals are finally complete for me which means I have more time to write the chapters. Before I continue I need to make an important announcement. One of my friends on the site, Kiara092 has passed away. Therefore this chapter is dedicated to her memory.**

 **Rest in Heaven, my Friend.**

Even though the peace celebration was now underway, the day was quickly turning into night time, much to the cub's disappointment. Long dark shadows began to blanket the trees and the rocks surrounding the Pride Rock area as the bright orange ball of light was slowly slipping down against the red sky and the black clouds. Even though the celebration would continue on throughout the week, all the cubs from both prides didn't really enjoy the idea of ending the fun or getting ready for bed.

"Simba! You need to hold still!" Sarabi said while trying to hold down the golden cub in her paws. In order to save herself and Simba from embarrassment, Sarabi decided to give her son a bath before the next morning. Of course, Simba protested by squirming and struggling in his mother's arm as she gave him long licks with her rough tongue.

"MOM!" Simba cried out as he pushed away from Sarabi's chest with his legs, but to no avail, "why do you have to bathe me, I'm perfectly fine."

Sarabi sighed with annoyance, her son would never accept a bath from her. While she continued to clean him, the queen's thoughts began to wonder. What would Simba be like in a year or so? Simba's personality definitely paralleled that of his father's. Sarabi distinctly remembered Mufasa complaining to his mother about the pointlessness of being groomed when they were cubs. How that certain trait in the family got passed down to Simba was beyond Sarabi.

 _"And here I thought my son was starting to grow up,"_ Sarabi thought to herself. After Kula's competition last week, the queen started to notice a change in Simba's behavior. She noticed that the prince became shy and dazed off when in proximity to Nala. In addition, the cream cub exhibited similar behavior. Sarabi even caught her one time staring at Simba by the waterhole.

 _"Could it be that more than just a simple crush is developing?"_ Sarabi asked herself. Simba and Nala both had a strong bond that was shared. Sarabi might dare say it was greater than any other cub relationship.

 _"I guess it was a good decision to have them betrothed,"_ Sarabi concluded to herself.

"MOM!" Simba yelled breaking the lioness's thoughts and snapping her back to reality. She shook her head while her eyes focused on the small pouting cub in front of her.

"Yes, Simba?" Sarabi asked.

"You can stop licking me, I think I'm clean now," Simba said. Sarabi didn't realize that she was still cleaning Simba when she dozed off. The queen loosened her hold on him and Simba leaped out of her arms and on to the den floor. Sarabi then stood up from the ledge that she was sitting on and made her way towards the large rock that was reserved for the royal family, Simba trailing behind her. Already on the rock was Mufasa resting his large head in between his paws as his mate and son settled in and nuzzled up against him, falling into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Morning's first light peered through the top of trees, letting everyone know that the new day has started and that the celebration was to commence once again.

As according to tradition, the royal family, as well as accompanying advisors of the visiting pride, was to sleep in a separate den from everyone else. This act was to represent the peace and unison that the Pride Lands and Mountain Pride now shared. The den itself was located in a collection of red rocks that were scattered about the base of Pride Rock. While the den opening seemed small it was actually quite roomy. Offering a wide den for the royal family to unwind and relax away from their subjects. The only issue was that when the advisors had to sleep with the Royals, that meant that their family had to as well.

Malka found it to be extremely boring to be cooped up in the den while Simba and the others were at the upper levels of Pride Rock. As the reddish brown cub laid between his mother and father on the den floor, all he could do was sigh and think how boring this all was. On the other end of the den was Tama and her father, Wakili. The tan lioness cub was curled up against her father gently sleeping with quiet snores.

Malka didn't know how Tama could sleep at a time like this. They were in the Pride Lands, a place of legends, and all she could do was sleep? Though, Malka had to admit he had woken up quite a while ago. He would have gone to wake her up, but apparently, he had found himself imprisoned in between his parents embrace. He tried pushing and batting at their arms to wake them up, but it was no use. They were both stuck in a deep sleep. Eventually, he gave up trying and receded back to his sleeping position. Malka's eyes continued to wander around the den before landing back again on Tama's sleeping figure.

The light cream cub had been acting out of character recently he didn't know why. Since arriving in the Pride Lands she was more aggressive and sarcastic than usual. However, the prince was too tired to question it any further and then slipped back into slumber.

* * *

By the next afternoon, the celebration festivities continued. According to tradition after the first feast, the next 3 days were spent with a party like atmosphere and several activities that taught the younger cubs about the history of the event. Though all the adults were enjoying themselves, the cubs were not too enthusiastic.

Gathered under a nearby acacia tree at the shores of the waterhole, the cubs listened to Sarafina discussing her memory about the war during her cubhood. While it was an interesting story and none of the cubs found Sarafina boring herself, she did sometimes get carried away trying to impress the cubs, making it rather embarrassing; especially for Nala.

"So, there we were, Mufasa, Sarabi and I laying down at this spot watching the negotiation take place between Ahadi and the King of the Mountain Lands," Sarafina swooned as she looked up at the sky with dreamy eyes, "I could I already tell that Mufasa and Sarabi weren't paying attention. Even then they were constantly making googly eyes at each other."

"MOOMMMMM!" Nala groaned while covering her eyes with her light cream paws.

"Nala, sweetie, let me finish!" Sarafina countered completely oblivious to her daughter's agony.

Nala sighed rolling her eyes. The cream lioness then slumped herself on Simba's side her face completely buried in his golden fur. In response, Simba's face turned completely red.

Kula, Chumvi, and Tojo chuckled at the sight. After the events of Kula's dating game, the relationship between Simba and Nala was pretty obvious. It was a wonder that the two didn't notice all the signs.

"Eventually the two kingdoms finished the negotiation and that's how this celebration came to be," Sarafina finished. The other cubs then started to chatter amongst themselves again dispersing around the waterhole area.

"Hey, Nala!" Tama called out padding over. The cream lioness raised her head from Simba's shoulder, much to the prince's relief although he was slightly disappointed by it.

"Hey, Tama. What's up?" Nala asked.

"Now that your Mom's story is over you wanna hang out by the water hole?" Tama proposed, Nala smiled and then nodded, Simba, however, wasn't happy. The prince was starting to have a growing resentment towards the snarky lioness cub. Nala's blind acceptance of her only increased the anger building up inside of him. However, Simba kept his feelings concealed, as to not ruin his reputation especially in front of Nala.

"You mind if I tag along," Simba asked hopefully. Tama instead pulled her face into a slight frown.

"I'm sorry but, we just need some girl time," Tama said Nala got up from her position and joined Tama.

"OH! Can I join!" Kula shouted standing up while knocking over Chumvi due to her abrupt movement. Tama looked back at the peppy brown cub and her face slightly scrunched at the thought.

 _"Ugh… I can't have her come along,"_ Tama thought to herself, _"She'll interrupt every conversation that I'll have. She's way to perky."_

"Well, Nala and I want some girl time… **alone** ," Tama reiterated stressing the alone. She then turned back to Nala trotting away with her.

Kula then slumped down dejectedly onto the ground a frown on her muzzle. The other cubs looked in shock at Kula's sadness. I was a rare occurrence for her to ever be sad, almost like an eclipse. Kula, with tears forming, took a hold of Chumvi, squeezing the life out of him. Burying her head into Chumvi's chest, tears started to stain the light fur of his underbelly.

"Why...does...she...have...to...be...so...mean!?" Kula said with heavy gasps in between her words.

"I… don't… know… Kula," Chumvi sputtered out, losing oxygen flow from her vice grip, "but could you loosen your grip? I'm starting to feel lightheaded."

"NO!" Kula shouted only squeezing him tighter, "I'M NOT LETTING GO UNTIL TAMA BECOMES NICE!" Chumvi then succumbed to the bear hug collapsing into the grass with Kula still on top of him.

"When did she get this clingy?" Malka asked. Since the adventure in talon cave, Malka was aware of Kula's attachment to the snarky chocolate brown cub. However, the tan prince wasn't aware of how bad it got.

"About 12 days ago," Tojo stated, "Things kinda move fast around here I guess."

"Well, shouldn't we help Chumvi?" Malka asked turning his gaze back to the two.

"Trust me, buddy," Simba said resting his arm on Malka's shoulder, "There are two lions that you never want to mess with. My Uncle Scar, and Kula."

* * *

"So what did you have in mind?" Nala asked lying down in the shade of a small cool den that was hidden in the rocks of the waterhole. Nala had discovered the small den on a game of hide and seek and keep it hidden from everyone. Except for Simba, of course.

"We can talk about, our homes, or learning to hunt, or...boys," Tama said pausing before the last statement.

"Huh? What do you mean, boys?" Nala asked confused by her question. Tama in response rolled her eyes, flicking the tuft of fur on her hair back.

"Come on, it's only us here," Tama pried a bit more, "and I know you have the hots for Simba." Nala's face instantly turned red.

 _"Am I that obvious?"_ Nala asked herself.

"What!" Nala exclaimed hoping to throw Tama off, "First of all Simba is my best friend, I see him as a brother. There's no way that it could be any more than that!" Nala defended herself. Tama, however, wasn't buying Nala's act.

"Come on, surely being future queen isn't that bad," Tama said. This caught Nala's attention. Future Queen? What it that supposed to mean?

"Excuse me?" Nala asked taken by surprise at Tama's statement. The advisor-in-training made a questioning look at Nala.

"Surely, you've heard of it by now right?" Tama said, confusing Nala even more so, "I mean just yesterday I overheard some of the lionesses than you and Simba are to be married."

Nala's eyes widened _. "MARRIED?!"_ The words hit Nala like a huge rock. She slumped down from her upright position her paw up to her forehead.

"Nala, are you okay?" Tama asked concerned.

"Yeah, I just…" Nala started but then stopped herself. She stood up from the floor of the den in a dazed way, "I... I… I need a moment." With that Nala sprinted out of the small cave leaving a confused Tama.

 _"So that's why Dad told me not to tell about my betrothal to Malka,"_ Tama said to herself.

* * *

When the lionesses returned from the evening hunt Kula was still clinging onto Chumvi's body. Luckily Tojo was able to lure Kula away from him with the leg of a zebra, leaving Simba and Malka to swiftly carry him to Rafiki to be resuscitated.

Learning that Rafiki was at Pride Rock both Princes approached him with Chumvi's legs in their mouths dragging the unconscious cub along the ground stirring up dirt. When they reached the main den, Rafiki and Mufasa were in a conversation.

"Umm Rafiki?" Simba asked his speech muffled. The two adults turned their head, looking at the scene.

"What happened?" Mufasa asked.

"Kula," Simba simply stated. Rafiki sighed walking over to Chumvi with his staff in hand.

"Let's see what de damage is this time," Rafiki said examining his body. With one short jab to Chumvi's underbelly, the brown cub sharply inhaled, his eyes shooting open.

"Chumvi please relax!" Rafiki said. Chumvi's short breaths quickly deepened until it slowed down, "It would seem as though you have one collapsed lung. What were you two doing?"

"KULA!," Chumvi groaned, "She was...she was...strangling me to death with her grip!" Chumvi then laid his head back on the floor of the den, "Great spirits that girl is strong!"

* * *

After sometime Chumvi was allowed by Rafiki to stand up again. Malka and Chumvi were walking back to the waterhole, while Simba choose stayed behind with his father.

The two were making their way back Malka keeping a close eye on Chumvi to make sure that he wouldn't faint again. Trudging through the grass during the sunset made quite a peaceful walk.

Malka then stopped abruptly in the tall grass.

"What?" Chumvi asked stopping as well.

"I hear something running in the grass," Malka stated. The two paused, then suddenly a light furry blur came out of the grass knocking Chumvi down to the ground for the second time that day.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Chumvi cried out in annoyance.

"Oh sorry, Chumvi!" The fluffy object frantically apologized. Chumvi rubbed his eyes before opening it to see that Nala was the one who crashed into him.

"Nala?" Chumvi asked, "what are you doing running around. I thought you were with Tama."

Nala quickly became flustered as he cheeks reddened. She wasn't great at lying in these situations but she didn't want Chumvi or Malka to know about the betrothal. Either way, Nala knew that something would slip. The cream cub sighed and sat down on the grass.

"Look I'm only going to say this once so don't tell anyone especially Simba," Nala muttered lowering her head in embarrassment.

"So I may or may not have, a crush on Simba," Nala said, "and I found out that Simba and I are supposed to be married."

Malka and Chumvi exchanged confused glances.

"So what exactly is the problem here?" Chumvi bluntly asked. Malka facepalmed, while Nala gave him a glare.

"THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT I DON'T KNOW IF SIMBA LIKES ME OR NOT!" Nala screamed at the brown cub.

"Ugh what is wrong with boys!" Nala muttered to herself frowning. The cream lioness then stopped over Chumvi, then disappearing into the grass of the Savannah once again.

Chumvi rubbed his face, a red mark in the shape of Nala's footprint forming on his dark forehead. The brown cub stood up a dazed look in his eyes. Malka was still standing shocked by Nala's outburst.

"Wow, I didn't know how aggressive she can get," Malka commented.

"Yeah," Chumvi said still rubbing his head, "It's best to not upset her. I'm sorry that you had to find out like this." The last statement confused Malka.

"What do you mean?" The reddish cub asked his eyebrows curling up. Chumvi rolled his dark eyes.

"About the betrothal, between Simba and Nala," Chumvi said.

"You mean you knew?" Malka asked surprised.

"Yeah, I've known for quite some time. Sarafina accidentally let it slip when she was babysitting us. Simba and Nala were too busy trying to pin each other that they didn't hear," Chumvi explained, "I guess you must be pretty bummed about it."

"Well I…," Malka stammered embarrassed about the last comment the chocolate brown cub had said. Malka's crush for Nala faded over time after the cave incident. Sure the prince still cared for her as well as admiring her beauty but it wasn't as strong as it once was.

"Chumvi, to tell you the truth. I got over her," Malka admitted. Chumvi's eyes widened.

"Seriously!" Chumvi said, "I don't believe it! There's only one way you could forget a crush that strong, by finding another girl. So who's the lucky one?"

Malka then blushed deeply, his eyes wandering down into the dirt.

"Umm…..It's...well...I have a crush on…..," Malka stammered his paws fiddling with a small rock. Eventually, he stopped and took in a deep breath.

"I have a crush on Tama," Malka stated quietly.

"WHAT!?"

 **AN: That concludes the third chapter. I just love cliffhangers hehehe. For the rest of the story I'm predicting about 5 to 7 chapters, I'm aiming for 6 chapters. See you next time readers.**


	4. Follow the Clues

**AN: WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! I know it's been a while since I last updated the chapter. However, I was on vacation for a couple weeks and you know...being a normal person. But I'm now back to basement dweller status. So not to fear!**

 **Of course, I still have to survive the social nightmare that is high school, but we'll get through this together!**

* * *

Simba sat, by the entrance of the den, angered and depressed at the same time. Pouting about the current circumstances of the Mountain Pride's visit. While Malka offered to walk Chumvi back, Simba took the opportunity to stay behind at the den to avoid any other interactions with Tama.

" _Who does she think she is,"_ Simba thought kicking a rock from the ground away, " _talking down to everybody else and making Kula cry."_ He rolled his eyes when the thought of the tan cub came to his mind.

"What does Nala even like about her," Simba asked himself, "it's not like there's anything special about her." Simba let out a huff and sauntered into the den plopping himself down on to the stone floor of the den, raising a small cloud of dust in the air.

"Simba, you can't just sit in here moping about," a voice said to him. Simba gasped looking up to see Tojo standing at the entrance of the den with his eyebrows raised and smirk on his tan muzzle.

"Tojo!" Simba gasped surprised by his sudden materialization. The prince stood up trying to hide the defeated look on his face.

"Don't even try to deny it, Simba," Tojo said, "I heard you muttering to yourself adding to the fact that aren't subtle about your feelings." Tojo finished with a slight chuckle.

"What!" Simba cried out standing up, "what do you mean by that."

Tojo rolled his eyes, "Simba, when it comes to emotions you're not the brightest lion cub. It's obvious that your jealous of Tama spending time with Nala." With that comment, the golden prince's cheeks blushed profusely.

"What! N-n-n-n..no!" Simba muttered looking down at his paws.

"Simba, I saw everything that happened after Kula's game," Tojo stated making Simba's face even redder, "I think it's pretty clear that you have a crush on Nala."

" _Am I that easy to read?"_ Simba asked himself.

"Okay, fine!" Simba gave up, standing up in front of Tojo, "So what if I think that she's the most beautiful lioness ever! So what if I would give anything to be with her, even if she'll never love me in return! SO WHAT IF I LOVE HER MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!" Simba screamed in the den. After that, the prince realized what he just blurted out, then slapping his paws over his golden muzzle.

" _Oh, great spirits what have I done!"_ Simba thought.

* * *

While the day was starting to end many lions of the pride were still scattered around the waterhole and the grasslands. Chumvi and Malka were sitting down a patch of grass along the pathway to the waterhole. After confessing his crush on Tama, Chumvi had decided to help Malka with his problem.

"Okay Malka, let's go over why you have a crush on her again," Chumvi asked.

"Well," Malka thought about it, "She's feisty, assertive, but I can tell that she's truly a caring person under that and she'll go through any length for a friend, I love that in a girl." Malka mused dreamily eyed.

Chumvi rolled his eyes at Malka's antics.

"Well, I'm gonna be honest here, Malka, your really bad at love," Chumvi bluntly stated making Malka sighed and bend his head down.

"But that doesn't matter right now," Chumvi said, Malka raised his head back up. Chumvi grabbed Malka's cheeks looking him stern in the eyes, "Right now, you're an awkward clumsy and pushy cub."

"Um okay?" Malka said but Chumvi silenced him again.

"But we're gonna change that," Chumvi said, "I'm gonna turn you into a confident and irresistible lion that all the ladies will fall for."

Malka, in turn, was nervous about Chumvi's outcome. Last time he tried to help with the prince's crush on Nala it was nothing but tedious and painful. But he was willing to put a little faith in Chumvi.

"Uh okay I'm willing to try this," Malka said timidly. Chumvi made a big toothy smile similar to Kula's antics.

"Good, we begin tomorrow!" Chumvi exclaimed.

"I think all that time with Kula is starting to rub off on you," Malka stated. In response, Chumvi made a confused expression on his face.

"What do you mean by that?" Chumvi asked.

* * *

Simba stood in silence with his golden paws smacked over his muzzle. He just blabbed the biggest secret he ever had to Tojo. On the other had Tojo wasn't really surprised by Simba's outburst. Even before Kula's game, the ginger cub had noticed the prince's attachment to Nala and how defensive he was around her.

"Well Simba that was certainly loud," Tojo started, Simba looked down in shame fumbling his paws with an extremely red face.

"And to be honest I'm not too surprised," Tojo finished with a smirk on his ginger face. Simba looked up in surprise.

"What!" Simba cried still red in the face.

"Simba do you think nobody notices how you stare at her all the time?" Tojo chuckled. Simba face-pawed himself while sitting down.

"What am I going to do?" the prince asked, "If Nala finds out about this, she'll think I'm too weird to ever be loved and she'll reject me, and I'll never find love..and...and," at that point Simba began to hyperventilate taking in sharp breaths as his mind began to race with thoughts.

"Woah, Woah! Simba, calm down!" Tojo said grabbing Simba by his shoulders, "Take deep breaths!"

The golden cub then started to calm down with the rapid shakes.

"Relax, you just need to be more subtle with your feelings," Tojo reassured Simba, "maybe I can help you, and one day you'll have the courage to confess to her."

Simba looked back up at Tojo's sincere teal eyes.

"Thanks, Tojo," Simba said, "you're a great friend."

"All part of the job, buddy," Tojo responded gleefully.

* * *

By the next morning, both Simba and Kula were glumly sitting down in a secluded corner of the den while the other cubs socialized. The Lionesses left for the afternoon hunt leaving the cubs alone in the den. Both of them didn't want to confront Tama and her attitude.

Simba took a look over to Kula, the brown lioness looking down with a saddened expression on her muzzle. The prince couldn't help but feel sorry for her, it was rare for Kula to ever feel down. It seemed to disrupt the flow of the entire pride when it happened.

Simba looked over to the brown lioness cub and lightly tapped her shoulder, signaling her to follow him. Kula looked up with a confused look on her face.

"Follow me, Kula, we need to talk," Simba said in a hushed voice. The two then made their way out of the den and around the base of Pride Rock.

"What is it, Simba?" Kula asked. Simba sighed before turning his head in the other direction.

"Look, Kula, I'm not going to stand for Tama's harassment," Simba said slamming his paw into the ground.

"How are we supposed, to do that?" Kula asked raising her dark eyebrow up into a curve. The golden cub pondered for a moment before an idea crossed his mind.

"I think I have an Idea," Simba said. The goldish-brown cub stood up and lead Kula out of the two padded down the pathway of Pride Rock and around the side of the great landmark to the historical cave, that Mufasa showed him earlier that week.

Simba entered and browsed through the various stones before landing on a small pile of flat stones with inscriptions on them. The prince rummaged through the stones despite only knowing what a couple of the markings actually meant.

"Simba, what's the point in all of this," Kula complained while sitting down, "It's not we'll find anything in here."

Simba rolled his eyes in disapproval as he continued to push small stones and large rocks aside. After a couple minutes the cub's amber eyes lit up as he pulled a flat stone from a pile in the corner of the small cave.

"Ah ha, I got it!" Simba picked up the rock with his mouth and plopped it down in front of the impatient lioness cub.

"The inscriptions on this stone says that the lineage of the advisors, in Malka's Pride had played a major part in the infamous war. Perhaps we can figure out what exactly happened," Simba said, "according to this rock somewhere hidden in the Pride Lands a cavern is located that may hold the answer."

"How are we supposed to find it?" Kula asked tilting her head.

Simba smiled and looked up, "we follow the clues."

"Clues?" Kula's eyebrows curved up in confusion.

"The location of the cavern can be discovered through a map like series of clue that are hidden throughout the Pride Lands," Simba said. He then bent down examining the small stone again.

"It says the first clue is hidden in the red rocks!" Simba exclaimed, "Let's go!" The prince grabbed Kula's forepaw and dashed out of the cave.

"It's gonna be a Simba and Kula adventure!" the prince exclaimed with glee.

* * *

By the early afternoon, the lionesses had finished another successful hunt. Due to the unusually high amount of lions at Pride Rock, they had to double their efforts to be able to provide enough food for everyone.

When lunch was finished. The cubs were allowed to leave the den Chumvi took the opportunity to sneak away with Malka. Chumvi leads him away from the pride and into the grasslands underneath a small tree.

"Okay, Malka, today marks the start of my new campaign to impress and win Tama's heart!" Chumvi said. In response, Malka sighed dejectedly and slumped down under the shade of the tree.

"Chumvi, please promise me that you're not going to take this to Kula extremes," Malka said. The chocolate brown cub rolled his eyes.

"First step, Malka, change that attitude of yours," Chumvi stated, "It what keeps girls at a tree's length away from you at all times. If you want Tama to notice you, you have to project confidence."

"Okay, how do I do that, Chief?" Malka sarcastically responded.

"First you have to stand up," Chumvi said, annoyed with the response he received. Malka grumbled and complied with Chumvi's instructions

"Alright, Malka, pay attention," The chocolate brown cub stated, "I have arranged this exercise to help with boosting your confidence." Malka groaned in annoyance but continued to listen to Chumvi's instructions.

"This is a small simulation you will walk over to Tojo and ask him out on a date," Chumvi explained. Malka's eyes made a confused expression after hearing Chumvi's words. He looked up to see that Tojo was standing behind Chumvi with the same expression as Malka.

"Ummm, can I interject for a moment!" A high pitched voice interrupted. The two other boys turned to face Tojo. The timid cub was forced into the situation by Chumvi. He didn't know why he was chosen to play the girl part, and not Nala, or any other girl for the mater, however, he knew how adamant Chumvi was and decided to just go along with it.

"Chumvi, this is stupid!" Tojo said, "I didn't expect this when you said I was helping Malka. Couldn't you get Nala to do this or ANY other girl for that matter."

Chumvi snorted before delivering a quick retort, "Well, Tojo, your just as girly as them, possibly more than Nala, so it's a perfect fit."

"Stupid Chumvi," Tojo muttered under his breath.

"What was that!" Chumvi snapped glaring at the tan cub.

"Nothing!" Tojo quickly responded with a nervous expression.

Malka then took in a deep breath before approaching Tojo. Padding over slowly to the tan cub Malka stopped as he was a foot in front of Tojo.

"Uh….," Malka stammered, "you wanna go kill a bird?"

Once hearing the absurd statement Tojo scoffed and raised his paw, slapping Malka across the cheek before stomping away. Malka stood in shock rubbing his cheek.

"Jeez what was his problem," Chumvi asked walking over to the shocked cub.

* * *

Bye noon Simba and Kula had reached the collection of red rocks. The rocks had formed from an ancient river that dried up. The pathways between the large boulders were coated with red dust. With each paw step, red dust would rise up into the air.

"Okay, Simba we're here now what?" Kula asked.

Simba dropped the small stone in his mouth to read the inscription again.

"The small stone says that the next clue is located in 'the foundation of the rocks," Simba quoted from the small inscription.

"Hmmm," Kula thought out loud, "why do these things always have to be so cryptic. Can't it just say, 'go here and do this'?"

"Kula, that isn't the point," Simba said, "where's your sense of adventure?"

"I think I left it back at Pride Rock," Kula sarcastically responded. The brown lioness leaned against a rock that was near the tip of the gorge. The rock was raised from a large flat boulder that reached over the edge of the cliff.

Simba sighed with annoyance. However, when looking up he spotted a peculiar symbol on the rock that Kula was leaning on. A small paw print with markings underneath it.

"Kula, stay right there," Simba said. He approached the rock looking for any other clue that could be located on the rock. After circling the boulder several times he couldn't find anything.

"Hmm, that weird if the symbol is on the rock there should be a clue somewhere around here," Simba said. Kula stood up from her slouching position and slightly tapped the rock with her claws listening to the sound.

"It sounds hollow," She stated. She then tapped the rock again before falling through a weak spot and into a hidden cave.

"Ahh!" Kula screamed as she tumbled down landing with a thud.

"Kula!" Simba cried rushing forward and jumping into the small entrance. Kula was dazed out on the floor groaning in pain.

"Are you alright?" Simba asked.

"Yeah," Kula said slowly getting on to her paws. The two looked around the hidden space in awe.

"Well I guess this is my new hideout spot," Kula smiled, "I've been needing one since Nala took my old one." While observing the walls of the hidden cave the lioness cub spotted inscriptions in the far right.

"Simba what's that?" She asked pointing to the scratches on the walls.

"It's the next clue!"

* * *

 **AN: And that wraps up this chapter! I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for any longer so that's why it may seem a bit shorter than usual. I really appreciate you guys for continuing to read and review. I'll be sure to get the next chapters out soon.**


	5. Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones

**AN: Welcome back everybody! I happy to have this fanfiction back on schedule. I want to thank all of you guys who read my silly stories. In a way, it's kinda therapeutic to write. Anyways I'll probably be sticking to 12-16 days in between each chapter just to make sure I don't rush them out. Don't worry this series isn't going anywhere.**

"Alright let's review the progress that you've made," Chumvi said to Malka. r. After a couple seconds the brown cub sighed with defeat, "Okay, let's be real here, you haven't made any progress." The two boys were at the waterhole lying on a large rock near the edge of the water. Chumvi was in the middle of his campaign to make Malka a ladies man. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't working out. Malka's awkwardness had already offended Tojo earlier that day, luckily it wasn't any more cubs than that

"That's not making me feel better, Chumvi," Malka remarked, the prince closed his eyes preparing to take a nap, then a paw smacked the back of his head.

"OW!" Malka cried out snapping his eyes open and rubbing the back of his head, "What was that for!?"

"IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!" Chumvi screamed. The cub dragged his paws across his face exposing the underside of his eyes, "Okay, okay, okay, okay. We can turn this around it's just going to take a little work."

* * *

" _How did it come to this?"_ Malka thought, " _Taking dating advice from Chumvi, and letting him put me down."_ The reddish cub looked up to see Chumvi talking with Nala across from the waterhole.

" _Well it's not like this day can get any worse,"_ Malka thought to himself. Across from where Malka was sitting Chumvi was explaining to Nala about the current situation.

"Since Tojo, walked out on us I figured that you can help us," Chumvi said.

"Sure!" Nala responded with glee smiling, "I would love to. Perhaps you could help me with my relationship problems. I only have one question before we start."

"What's that?" Chumvi asked.

"Have you seen Simba or Kula, it's unusual for them to miss lunch. I haven't even seen them all day," Nala said, "I hope they aren't getting into too much trouble."

"Well, I think that Simba might have a jealousy problem," Chumvi said. This confused Nala. She knew that Simba was a bit possessive sometimes but why would he have a reason to. Simba didn't have the same feeling for her as she did for him.

"Jealous?" Nala said, surprised.

"Oh come on, all that time you've been spending with Tama. Plus she's a little umm… how should I put this, harsh," Chumvi explained.

"Well, I shouldn't let, Simba's jealousy affect my other relationships, like with that whole Mwezi and Jua incident," Nala said.

"Didn't they turn out to be evil," Chumvi reminded the cream lioness.

"That's beside the point!" Nala cut off the chocolate brown cub, waving her paw in his face, "look let's just help Malka."

The two cubs walked over to Malka who was sitting nervously. When they reached him Malka straightened up with an anxious expression.

"Alrighty," Nala said, "let's get to work."

* * *

Simba and Kula continued to look at the inscriptions on the side of the cave.

"Hmmm," Simba pondered as he scanned the markings again.

"Well, what does it say?" Kula asked tilting her head to the side.

"Tall and proud I stand, seasons pass I fade and brighten again and again. My reach extends to the sky and the ground below your paws," Simba quoted. When he finished a silence fell upon the two again.

"Reach to the sky and the ground," Kula repeated. Then as if a light brightened in her head, the lioness cub sprang up.

"I got it it's Rafiki's tree!" Kula explained.

"What? Are you sure?" Simba asked. Kula nodded.

"A tree's branches reach to the sky and its roots go into the ground," Kyla explained, "and the only tree that would be that important to the past kings would be Rafiki's tree."

"Huh, so there is a brain up in there," Simba said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kula asked tilting her head to the side.

"Never mind, that, let's go!" Simba said. The two cubs leaped out of the hollow rock and into the lush green fields. Just as they left a small mole emerged from the ground. He watched as the two cubs grew smaller in the distance.

"This isn't good, I must alert the underground network," he muttered to himself before returning back into the ground.

In the heat of the day, the sun was slowly but surely was creeping across the blue dome of the sky, commencing the late afternoon. Sprinting across the grasslands passing several of the lionesses and other various animals. Eventually, Simba and Kula reached the massive baobab tree that Rafiki called his home.

"We have to be careful when looking for the clue," Simba whispered to Kula.

"What? Why?" Kula asked tilting her head.

"Well, Rafiki doesn't like to be disturbed," Simba explained, "remember last week. Tojo had a sizeable lump on his head for 3 days."

"Oh right," Kula said. The two then crouched down camouflaging themselves in the tall grass. The two crept quietly around the base of the tall tree.

"Okay, where could the clue be hidden on the tree?" Kula asked.

"The most important part is in the branches where Rafiki makes the paintings," Simba said, "the only problem is how are we supposed to get up there without getting in trouble."

"We could fake an injury," The brown lioness cub suggested.

"Nah," The prince shook his head, "He could tell if it's fake or not."

"Ah, what a beautiful day," a voice rang out in a sing-song voice, "nothing like a nice relaxing nap in the warm sun." Simba and Kula turned around to see Tojo settling down on a rock to sunbathe.

"I got an idea," Kula said. She then stalked silently creeping up behind the daydreaming tan cub. The brown lioness snatched up a stick with her paw raising it and then striking Tojo across the head rendering him unconscious.

"What the heck was that!" Simba screamed in shock at Kula's action.

"Hey, I got an injury for Rafiki to treat," Kula said. She then grabbed the scruff of Tojo's neck dragging him across the ground to the base of the large baobab tree.

"Kula, you scare me sometimes," Simba remarked.

"That's one of my specialties, golden boy," Kula said, "I got the body now what?" she bluntly stated.

"Don't say that so loud!" Simba said. He anxiously looked around for any signs of other animals, "Let me fetch Rafiki he should be with my Dad at the northern border. Wait here and make sure Tojo doesn't wake up."

"Aye aye, sir," Kula saluted the prince. Simba rolled his amber eyes before taking off to find his father.

* * *

"Come on Malka you're never gonna impress a girl that way," Nala called out to the reddish-brown cub.

"You try tightrope walking from the top of a tree!" Malka screamed back at the cream lioness.

"Once, again it's to improve your overall posture!" Nala shouted back.

The first exercise was a tightrope walk over the waterhole. Chumvi managed this by tying several vines together and stretching it across two palm trees that were on opposite sides of the body of water. When Malka started to walk across the thin vine, he maintained his balance for the first couple seconds and then immediately started to fumble on the vine.

Nala watched the struggle from below, she then turned to Chumvi who was sitting next to her, "You don't think that we're pushing him too far right?"

"Oh no, I think that this is an important step to the process," Chumvi explained.

"Doesn't seem a bit...extreme?" Nala asked, her eyebrows curving up. The chocolate brown cub paused for a bit.

"Nah," Chumvi said brushing off the subject.

"Gahhh!" Malka screamed as the thin vine snapped under his weight. The pair looked up to see the reddish brown cub fall into the water with a large splash. Chumvi and Nala cringed as a loud slap noise could be heard.

"Oooo, that's gonna leave a mark," Nala said.

"Huh I thought the water would break his fall," Chumvi bluntly stated.

Malka emerged from the water, his muzzle along with his underbelly starting to redden.

"I AM NEVER GOING TO DO THAT AGAIN!" Malka screamed stomping over to the two cubs.

"ALL YOU'VE DONE ALL DAY IS TORMENT ME! WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? IM DONE WITH THIS!" Malka stomped away angrily.

"Malka, wait!" Nala named after him. The two cubs attempted to chase after him, however, Chumvi's legs got caught in a vine. He tripped knocking over Nala.

"Chumvi watch where you are going!" The cream lioness scolded at the brown cub. She looked up to see that Malka had disappeared.

"Great we lost him!" Nala said.

"Yeah, well it's not like we could get anything accomplished with him anyways," Chumvi stated standing up and brushing himself off.

"Okay, now what do we do?" Nala turned to look at the boy beside her.

"We could find and bother Tojo," he suggested. Nala gave Chumvi a look for a solid minute.

"Okay," Nala agreed. The two then began to make their way back to Pride Rock.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kula was lying on the ground next to Tojo's unconscious body. To pass the time Kula was having a full conversation with herself and the tan cub.

"Well, I mean the relationship with Chumvi had been a bit rocky as of late," Kula said, "He hasn't been as affectionate, as usual, I hope for the best, but I'm starting to get worried." The brown lioness cub looked over to the tan cub neighboring her. Of course, Tojo didn't respond, but that didn't stop Kula from getting a response. She reached out her paw and moved Tojo's muzzle.

"Well, I think you need to hit stronger on him and see what the results will be," Kula responded mimicking Tojo's voice. At that moment the tan cub started to wake up. Kula flinched and snapped back to her previous position as Tojo opened his eyes.

"What the…," Tojo said groaning and rubbing his head, "what happened I think I blacked out."

"Uhh… nothing, you passed out on the rock," Kula lied as droplets of sweat started to form on her face. Tojo gave her a suspicious look.

"Right," Tojo said resting back on the ground, "jeez I have a really bad headache, can you get Rafiki for me."

"Already taken care of, buddy," Kula said. The two turned their heads at the sound of footsteps in the grass. Mufasa, Rafiki, and Simba were approaching from the border.

"I'm finally back!" Simba said. Rafiki and Mufasa were directly behind the cub.

"You cubs always find a way to become injured don't you?" Rafiki said with a chuckle. Tojo cracked a small smile, his reputation was notorious for getting himself injured quite often. It wasn't his fault, he just happened to be a clumsy cub.

"Don't feel bad, Tojo," Mufasa said, "your mother was the exact same way when I was a cub." Rafiki then scooped up Tojo and began to take him up the tree. Simba and Kula began to follow.

"Where, are you two going?" Mufasa asked. The two stopped in their tracks in front of the baobab tree.

"Uhhh...we're gonna stay by Tojo so he has someone with him," Simba said nervously. The King gave his son a look, before smiling.

"Well, that's very nice of you, son," Mufasa said before turning around to return to border patrol.

"Phew," Simba breathed a sigh of relief, swiping the sweat from his face. The two cubs proceed to climb up the tree and into the sparse branches. When they entered Tojo was resting on the ground as Rafiki searched around the various branches for medicins.

"You cubs must be more careful," Rafiki said, "If I could count the number of times you get injured, the tallys would overtake de tree."

"Sorry, Rafiki," Kula said, "but you know Tojo."

"How exactly did this happen?" Rafiki asked while he took a closer look at Tojo's body. Kula and Simba exchanged nervous glances with each other. They didn't know exactly how to explain Tojo's head injury.

"Um...he fell straight into a rock," Kula stated.

"Well dat explains the abrasion on his head," Rafiki said examining the back of Tojo's head, "There's a sizable lump from swelling, I'm going to have to get some herbs." The old mandrill looked up to the pair of cubs. "You don't mind staying with him do you?"

"Not at all," they said in unison. Rafiki then leaped from the top of the tree leaving the three alone.

"Okay, where are we gonna find the next clue?" Simba said.

* * *

Nala and Chumvi were lying on the ground of the den staring up at the cracked ceiling. Since Malka had stormed out on them, a void had been left unfilled by his absence. However, Nala's mind was swarming with thoughts concerning, Simba and their betrothal.

" _Married, why wasn't I told?"_ Nala thought, " _is it because Simba would hate it if he found out? What if he'll hate me if I told him how I felt about him?"_ the cream lioness couldn't deny the amazing thought of marrying Simba however it brought anxieties with it. What is the cub liked someone else? What would happen if he rejected her confession? What if they would have an unstable marriage?

"Whatcha thinking about?" Chumvi asked breaking Nala's tranced state. The cream lioness turned to face the chocolate brown cub, yesterday she already spilled the beans about her crush on Simba.

"Well, I um… you know about my crush on Simba," Nala said crimson flushing her light cheeks, "I've just been really, on edge concerning being betrothed to him. I just don't know how it's gonna work out. What if he doesn't like me back, if he'll hate me if I tell him."

"Nala, you can't assume that," Chumvi said, "your friendship with Simba spanns all the way back since we were babies. He cares for you deeply and will always be your friend no matter what. So how can you say that he'll hate you."

Nala looked down, "well I guess that you're right."

"In that case, I just can't wait to be queen!"

 **AN: before I conclude this chapter, I have an announcement. Because I'm still in high school the PSAT is something I have to study for. So don't be surprised if the chapters will take while longer for the next month or so. Anyways thanks for reading and I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Treetop Troubles

**AN: Yay after more than a month of keeping you guys waiting I finally posted another chapter! I'm super sorry for keeping you guys waiting but SAT prep takes priority.**

 **Enough keeping you guys waiting here's the chapter!**

* * *

"I'll be back soon," Rafiki announced from the bottom of the massive baobab tree. Simba peered over the edge observing the Mandrill as he walked away stick in hand. As soon as he left Simba turned to Kula.

"Okay now let's look for the…," Simba started before losing focus, "What. Are. You. Doing!?"

Kula had her paw halfway in the Tojo's mouth.

"Ummm….," Kula, caught off guard, paused for a moment to think up an excuse,"making a puppet, see." Kula moved her paw to make Tojo respond.

"Yeah, Simba, leave Kula alone!" Kula said mimicking Tojo's voice. Simba raised his right eyebrow giving the brown lioness a 'really' expression, "fine, I'll stop." The two stood up and started to search the tree top.

"Like the clue in the cave, the next clue should be marked by a paw print with claw marks," Simba reminded the brown lioness cub, "perhaps it's hidden in a branch or something." The two cubs then decided to pat down the branches of the tree feeling for any hollow spots similar to that of the hidden cave." The two continued to search pacing the treetop several times. Checking the base of the branches, underneath the various dangling fruits, and under Tojo's body, but to no avail.

"Simba! Look!" Kula said. The golden cub whipped around to see Kula looking up at a high branch with the familiar paw symbol etched on the side.

"Great work, Kula," Simba complimented the brown cub, "Now um… how do we get to it."

At that moment a loud sneeze was heard the two turned around to see Tojo still sleeping soundly rubbing at his nose. Kula turned back and met eyes with Simba.

"You thinking, what I'm thinking?" She said.

"Um, well, given your past actions of the day, I hope this doesn't involve harming him again," Simba replied with a concerned expression on his face.

"Could, you relax this won't hurt him a bit. Besides Tojo is a very heavy sleeper. remember that one time," Kula said.

* * *

Tojo lay sleeping in the shade of a palm tree as Kula, Simba, Nala, and Chumvi were climbing the neighboring acacia tree. The four of them had the idea to dive into the waterhole from the top of the tree.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Simba said as they stopped in the thick cover of the leaves.

"I bet I can make the biggest splash," Nala boasted shoving Simba playfully. The prince stumbled for a bit but soon regained his balance on the thinning branch.

"Pshhh, you guys can't cannonball for anything," Chumvi rolled his eyes, "Not if you keep flirting and making googly eyes at each other all the time." Simba and Nala deeply blushed at the same time.

"Shut up Chumvi!" The two said at the same time.

"See, that just proved my point," Chumvi whispered to Kula. The brown cub giggled in response. The prince and his future queen brushed off the comment from the chocolate cub and continued to ascend the tree.

"Well I just hope that this doesn't backfire," Nala commented. She then mistepped and lost her balance falling from the tree.

"NALA!" the three other cubs screamed as she plummeted from the tree top. The cream lioness braced herself expecting to hit the hard rocks surrounding the waterhole. However, she landed on something soft that bounced her up and then back on it.

When Nala opened her eyes she realized that she landed on Tojo. The tan cub in response groaned and rolled over.

"I guess is a heavy sleeper," Nala said to herself

* * *

"Well you are right," Simba said recalling the event, "but still I don't know…" the prince then looked around realizing that Kula wasn't beside him anymore. He turned around to see Kula was already dragging Tojo's sleeping body towards them.

"Sorry you were boring me," Kula said. She then propped Tojo up against the branch of the tree. The sleeping cub mumbles to himself in his sleep and slumped up against the branch.

"After you," Kula said motioning towards Tojo. Simba rolled his eyes and climbed on top of the tan cub. Kula then used Tojo as a step ladder to get on to Simba's back, using her hind legs to push off of Tojo's head and then onto the rough fur of Simba's back. Pushing herself up Kula brought her hind legs on the prince's shoulders. She raised her hind legs again stepping on the prince's shoulders.

"Okay, hurry up, I can't keep my balance forever you know!" Simba gasped out.

"Yeah yeah, just hold still," Kula rolled her eyes turning back to the branch with the paw marking on it. Upon a closer look the paw mark was actually a seperate layer of tree bark that was glued on to the branch with dried fruit juices. The brown lioness cub reached forward extending her sharpened claws to slowly pick off the bark. Meanwhile, Simba was struggling to keep standing tall. The brown lioness continued to slowly scratch at the bark. She had got about halfway until Simba had started to sway.

"Almost got it…," Kula said almost getting the piece of bark out from the tall branch. Just then the bark snapped off fluttering away. The lioness cub lurched forward snatching the clue from the air.

"I GOT IT!" Kula said, "woah!" At that point, Simba lost his balance, and the three toppled onto the ground into a heap.

"You have to be more, careful," Simba said groaning in pain and rubbing his head.

"Sorry, I got excited," Kula apologized. The two cubs stood back up to take a closer look at the bark that was peeled off from the branch of the tree. The prince bent down and scooped up the bark with his paw turning it upside down, revealing a jumbled image. It appeared to be some type of abstract animal and a tree, however, the anatomy didn't make any sense at all.

"I don't get it what is the puzzle trying to communicate to us?" Simba asked. Kula tilted her head to the side looking at it from another angle.

"All I see is a massive rock," she commented.

"A rock how do you see a rock? It's kinda looks like a lion and a tree," Simba asked.

"Not from this angle," Kula said. Simba took a second look at the image, slowly tilting his head so that the bark was sideways, once sideways an image of a long pointed rock emerged from the abstract markings.

"I get it! The images changes based on the angle it's looked at," Simba exclaimed. Placed the bark back onto the ground and rotated it again so that it was facing upside down. The strange almost alien markings changed their patterns once again to reveal an image of a tunnel system, almost like beetle markings on an old rotting log. The golden cub made a mental note of the clue before rotating the bark once more. This time the image of the lion was much clearer. It's ghostly appearance weaved in and out through stones before settling at the bottom with it's large mane and misty paws stretching out.

"Okay so there's a large rock, tunnels, and ghost lion," Simba said. Something about the three clues reminded him of one of the history lessons that his dad had taught him. Specifically the lesson about Royal Burial rituals.

"I think the clue might be telling us to go to the royal catacombes," Simba said.

"There's a royal catacombe?" Kula asked tilting her head.

"According to the traditions of the Pride Lands, when any lion dies they will be buried in a system of underground tunnels, however when a royal lion dies he must be buried in a different section with all the previous rulers of the Pride Lands. It may be where the next clue is hidden," Simba explained.

"You mean we have to travel into a dark spooky cavern filled with a bunch of dead guys?" Kula bluntly asked, the prince stared at her for a moment taken aback by her straight forwardness.

"Uh...yeah, if you put it that way," Simba said.

"Okay then let's go!" Kula exclaimed.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" a voice weakly asked coming from behind the two. Simba and Kula whipped around to see Tojo rubbing his eyes, while waking up from his nap. When the tan cub stood up he looked around observing the area.

"Huh that's weird I could have sworn I fell asleep in a different spot," Tojo remarked to himself. He then dismissed the thought and looked back up at Simba and Kula, "anyways what were you guys saying?" The two of them froze not knowing how to explain to the tan cub the current circumstances.

"Hey look over there!" Kula pointed Tojo turned his head in the direction that she was pointing to. The brown lioness then grabbed a paw full of dirt and tree ash from a small pile on the ground and blew it into the air making a smoke screen. Tojo coughed immediately blinded by the dust and ash. While he was blinded Kula lurched forward and grabbed Simba's paw. The two then bolted out of the tree top leaping onto the lower branches to get back onto the ground.

Getting back up, the tan cub rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them, seeing the blurry world first. Eventually, his eyes cleared up revealing that Simba and Kula had ditched him.

"Well this isn't the first time I've been ditched by my supposid friends," He remarked to himself, with nothing better to do Tojo lied back down on the floor of the tree top and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Kula and Simba continued to run through the grazing lands of the zebras. Fleeing from any potential consequences that could arise from ditching Tojo in the tree top. Eventually, the pair ran out of energy and had to break the sprint.

"I...think...we're…far enough…to stop…...running," Simba gasped between each word, his lungs still screaming for more air, and his legs fatigued.

"Yeah," Kula agreed before collapsing onto the ground. The brown lioness rolled onto her back stretching her paws to the blue sky, "Okay, where to next?" Simba then took the time to survey the landscape of the grasslands. Nothing but tall grass and grazing animals could be seen for a long distance. However, in the far corner of the fields, a tall solid rock stood out from the ocean of green, casting a sharp jagged shadow over the area.

"That might be it," Simba remarked. Kula looked up to see where Simba was staring at.

"Well, I guess it isn't an adventure without a creepy spot to explore," Kula said, "I guess we should go towards it, now." Simba smirked, he always relied on Kula's levity to brighten up his day. The spunky cub popped up from the ground and began walking with Simba.

* * *

"Alright you can do this, Malka," the reddish brown cub said to himself, "just say words that make love happen….maybe I should rephrase that statement," Malka was hidden inside a large bush watching Tama and her group of friends chatting while they were sunbathing on a ledge near the grasslands. He didn't need Chumvi and Nala's stupid dating advice, he was his own person and could make his own decisions.

" _Alright,"_ He took in a deep breath, " _three, two, one."_

"What are you doing?"

"AHHH!" Malka, startled by the abrupt voice let out a scream.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you," the voice said. The reddish brown cub turned around to see a girl with light brown fur and a red flower sticking up from behind her ear.

"It's fine, I was just umm….lost in my thoughts," Malka said his cheeks starting to flush, "who are you?"

"I'm Jua, I'm new your pride, My brother and I just moved into the area," She explained, "if you don't mind me asking but, why are you staring at those girls over there in a bush?"

"No particular reason…," Malka lied.

"Oh... you're the one that has a crush on Tama, right?" the light brown lioness cub said. Malka's cheeks darkened even more.

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

"I have a strong intuition," Jua stated, "besides your creepily staring at her through a bush, what other options are there?" she sarcastically added.

"Anyways I can help you with your relationship problem if you want," Jua added. In response, Malka scoffed.

"No, thank you," Malka remarked, "I have had enough dating advice for the rest of this celebration." He then stomped out of the bush and walked away from the bush leaving the lioness cub alone. She then looked around to make sure that no other cubs were around,

"Mwezi, you can come out now," Jua said, from a thicker part of the bush darker brown cub with a moon shaped rock tied around his neck.

"I can't believe you let him slip through your paws," Mwezi said, "That was the only chance to get the prince of the Mountain Lands under our influence."

"Relax will you there will be other chances," Jua said, "the most important part is that we are in the Mountain Land Pride." The twins then began to glow agree huge before evaporating into the air.

* * *

Kula and Simba were walking through the lush grass as the warm afternoon sun beamed. While walking with the golden prince, Kula thought back to her efforts to match make him with his best friend Nala. Despite what many lions might think Kula wasn't completely oblivious to everyone but herself. She actually had a strong intuition and could read animals emotionally, she just happened to love being crazy just a tad more.

Perhaps she should let Simba and Nala work out without her interference. It was pretty obvious that they had a crush on each other, it was a wonder that they didn't notice it.

" _Maybe a small push could do the trick,"_ Kula thought to herself. She then abruptly ran into a mass of fur.

"Kula you have to be more careful!" Simba scolded the brown lioness cub.

"Sorry, about that, Simba," Kula apologized, "why did you stop?"

"Because we're here," the golden cub replied. Kula looked up to see the tall pointed rock with a large boulder rolled in front of it. Near the top, a small inscription was written at the top.

"What does that say?" Kula asked.

"Here lies the entrance to the dead."

 **AN: And That concludes this chapter The next one will probably be the last. Anyways I hope to get the next chapter out soon but I ended up geting hooked on watching the entierty of The Office so yeah.**


	7. The Catacombs

**AN: WATTT IT'S ALREADY DECEMBER! Well, I planned to get this out earlier but writer's block hit me. However, I finally figured out how to close out this fanfiction so I hope you enjoy!**

The long day of the Savannah was starting to come to a close and red hues began to color the Pride Lands. Walking back to Pride Rock was Tojo. His tail was dragging on the ground and his body was fatigued. While Rafiki's herbs were helping to cope with the pain of his head, it also came with a slew of other side effects, most prominently drowsiness. However, Tojo was hesitant to fall back asleep once he made it in the den. It seemed as if every time he dozed off he would be the victim of some type of bodily harm. Nevertheless, the scrawny cub had managed to pull himself up the long steps of Pride Rock.

" _Come on, Tojo just a little further then you can finally relax."_

"Woah, what happened to you?" A voice said in shock. Tojo pulled his heavy head up to see Chumvi and Nala standing in front of him.

Tojo paused before responding letting out a long yawn, exposing the inside of his mouth. "A couple head injuries and Rafiki's herb medicine," he responded.

"Are you okay? You look like you about to pass out," Nala asked with a concerned expression on her face. Tojo shook his head no and then stepped into the cool atmosphere of the den.

"No I'll be fine I just need to…" at that moment Tojo couldn't resist the urge to fall asleep any longer and collapsed onto the floor of the den.

"Well, there's no way he's getting back up," Chumvi bluntly stated, "I guess we should stay here just in case."

"Yeah," Nala agreed. The two looked at the tan cub's sleeping body for a while.

"Wanna draw on his muzzle?" Chumvi asked.

"Sure," Nala responded with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

The sunset continued as Kula and Simba stood at the entrance to the catacombs of the Pride Lands. The large stone cover of the entrance loomed over the two cubs with a large shadow.

"It looks even creepier up close," Kula said, "Okay how do we open it?"

"Leave that to me," Simba said. He walked over to the side of the entrance and started to push on the large cover stone. Kula joined him as well. The two continued to push the large stone from the side as slowly the rock began to inch forward exposing the dead grass that laid underneath the large stone. Eventually, the cover was pushed forward enough to make a small opening that the two could slip into. The two cubs then slipped into the darkness of the burial tunnels. As the two entered the entrance chamber a blast of cold hit their face and a horrible stench stung their noses.

"Great Kings, what is that smell," Kula cried out. The strong scent forcing her to cover her muzzle with her brown paw. The two continued to venture in the light from the outside fading slowly. Small openings in the tunnels allowed small rays to shine through lightly illuminating the tunnels.

After walking for a while in the entry tunnel began to widen out, the stone walls spreading apart gradually as the cubs continued to move forward. Eventually, the tunnel had widened out into a large cave that dipped down into a large basin. The rounded walls were lined with more cover stones each leading to the burial chambers of a family. The two cubs stepped down into the large basin.

"What is this place, Simba?" Kula asked as she stood in the darkened cave of the catacombs.

"After a lion in the pride dies, a memorial service is held for one day, then the body is taken over here so the spirit can join their ancestors. Every stone here leads to the burial chamber of a family. A special one is reserved for the royal family of the pride, I'm thinking that where we'll find the answer to this whole conspiracy," Simba explained. The two then separated from the center of the large caldera of the cave observing each side of the cave along each cover stone of the burial chambers long inscriptions were scratched on describing each member and the lineage of the family.

The ceiling of the large cave was filled with small holes, the warm orange sun pierced through the holes and vines hung from the cracks in the ceiling. Simba continued to walk along the covered entrances. His shadow cast faintly on the darkened walls. Simba stopped when he saw the paw mark on a large cover stone.

"Kula look over here!" Simba called out to the brown lioness cub, she ran over to the golden prince from the other side of the cave.

"Did you find the magical secret about how to make Chumvi finally kiss me?" Kula asked excitedly with a wide smile on her muzzle.

"No, I didn't," Simba gave her a disapproving look, "did you forget the entire reason why we came down here?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Kula said her cheeks slightly reddening, "what did you find?" Kula asked her head tilted up.

"This cover has the paw mark on it which means it's the entrance to the royal burial chamber," Simba explained, the prince walked over to the side of the cover and started to push it to the side. The large rock grounded against the hard floor of the dark cave as the burial chamber became exposed for the first time. Dusty air blew out from the dark chamber.

"Oh Great Kings, it's that awful smell," Kula covered her nose as the smell of rotting flesh hit her nose, "do we really have to go in there."

"We came this far, Kula, sometimes you have to do really gross stuff for exploration," Simba said also covering his muzzle. The golden cub grabbed Kula's paw and they walked slowly in. The light from the main cave faded away.

"What can we even expect to find in here, Simba?" Kula complained as she was dragged in further into the royal tomb, "it's so dark in here I can't see anything." The two wandered in fully to the tomb of the past royals, Simba let go of Kula's paw and wandered around feeling for the scratches on the walls or any other tablets buried with the body. Slowly the setting sun increased its angle and the light continued to slowly creep its way across the floor of the catacombs.

"Hey Simba can I hold your paw it's too dark in here," Kula asked. The prince blushed at the request that Kula asked for. The thought of any other girl beside Nala holding his paw would definitely be awkward.

" _It's not like Nala will ever have to know about it,"_ Simba thought to himself, "Sure I guess."

"Thanks, Simba," Kula said she reached her paw around the darkened tomb. Eventually, she was able to grab onto something that felt like a paw. However, it felt cold and bony.

"Simba why is your paw really cold and sharp?" Kula asked still holding on.

"Kula you're not holding my paw," Simba stated confused by her question. Kula in return was equally confused by Simba's response.

"Okay that doesn't make sense if I'm not holding you paw than who's paw am I…," Kula started when the light from the setting sun finally had made its way into the old tomb. The brown lioness cub realized that she wasn't holding Simba's paw but the paw of an old rotting corpse.

"AHHH!" Kula screamed and she threw the paw away.

"Great Kings," Simba gasped as the light had exposed the corpse of King Ahadi for the first time in years. The once mighty Lion King had been reduced to nothing but a skeleton with bits of blackened flesh, the dark fur of his mane still attached to his skull through tiny bits of his face that still remained attached to his skull.

"Woah that is gross," Simba said shuddering at the sight of grandfather's body. Kula immediately rushed to Simba's side grabbing his body and closing her eyes shut.

"Simba can we please get this over with quickly," the brown lioness cub pleaded.

"Yeah hold on," Simba said he then took a closer look at the corpse of King Ahadi. It was then that Simba saw that within his ribcage was a small tablet with markings on it., "Look there, that has to be the next clue."

"Well, I'm not reaching for it," Kula said still latched on to the golden cub her head buried in Simba's fur and her eyes closed tightly shut. Simba gulped looking back at the body, did he really have to do this. Is stealing a tablet from the body of his grandfather really worth it.

" _You know what I've come too far to stop now,"_ Simba thought to himself. Simba held his breath and reached out with his matted paws and stuck them into the ribcage, shuffling around the bones in the process.

"Hevi Kabisa," Simba said to himself as he gagged.

"Hmmm, I don't think that's your catchphrase Simba," Kula commented.

"What are you talking about, nobody else says that in the Pride Lands," Simba responded.

"Yeah but I don't think that it suits you, maybe your son would be a better fit for it,"

Simba was left dumbfounded by Kula's statement and the two were left in silence for few minutes.

"No, more midnight zebra for you Kula," Simba said. The lion cub then grabbed the stone from the body and pulled it out through the ribs again causing a flurry of dust to dance through the musty air of the catacombs.

"Okay, I got the tablet," Simba said rushing away from the corpse as quickly as possible, Kula following. The prince held up the tablet to the fading light to get a better look at the artifact. The scratches on the small stone were exposed for the first time in years since Ahadi's passing. Observing it, Simba translated the markings in his head.

"I think I got it," Simba said out loud, "the answer to all of this is in…."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice yelled. Kula and Simba gasped they whipped around to see a mass of moles forming a wall and blocking the exit of the catacombs, "YOU ARENT GOING ANYWHERE." From the darkness emerged a single mole.

"I am Uchafu," one of the moles stood up spoke, "I'm the head of the underground system of the Pride Lands and I've spent the day following your pawsteps as you have uncovered a conspiracy that has been locked away since the great war." Kula and Simba exchanged nervous glances with each other.

"Unfortunately the cover-up that you two have been exploring is against the decrees of King Ahadi, and we can't let any lion know about what you two are about to uncover," Uchafu said he then stuck his two forefingers in his mouth and blew out a long whistle gaining the attention of the army. "Take them away." The moles then began to charge forward turning into a wave of brown fur. Simba and Kula screamed as they were swamped by the mass of the moles.

"Kula! Follow me!" Simba yelled he grabbed the brown lioness the two then kicked their way through the mass of moles in a desperate attempt to make a clear path through the tombs of the lions. The moles continued to claw and cling onto the two cubs, scratching through their fur and into their skin, even drawing blood on Simba's side. The two climbed up the path from the lower basin with the moles tailing behind them, swirling up dust and rocks. The two cubs had managed to bust through the barrier wall at the entrance of the tombs sending small moles flying. Simba and Kula continued to run through the tall grass of the planes until they were a distance from the entrance of the tombs.

"Do you think we lost them?" Kula asked breathing heavily.

"I'm pretty sure," Simba said with a laugh, "There's no way that animals with such tiny legs can ever catch up to us lions." The ground then started to shake beneath the two cubs, the earth cracked and split apart as moles began to emerge from the dirt. Simba and Kula then became surrounded again by the moles.

"You seem to forget about the underground part of our species," Uchafu said as he climbed out of one of the tunnel system, "Tie them up!" Uchafu commanded. The moles came out of the tunnels with vines. The moles launched the vines upwards over the two cubs the vines landed on the other side of the two lion cubs tying them down and restraining them to the ground.

"What are you going to do with us?!" Kula asked baring her teeth.

"Simple," Uchafu said, "a small herb will be used to render you unconscious while also erasing your memories from this entire day...although it may have some other unforeseen complications. But enough with this." Uchafu whistled again and the mole hoisted up the two cubs. Uchafu raised up a long tall stick.

"This won't hurt a bit," Uchafu smiled deviously, "It's gonna hurt a whole lot." The small mole swung down and everything went black.

* * *

"This entire trip was nothing but a bust," Malka said laying on his back staring at the ceiling of the den as the light of the day continued to slowly fade away and being replaced by the nighttime sky, "I haven't seen Simba and Kula this entire time, Nala and Chumvi wanted to torture me and Tama ignored me."

Sitting right next to Malka was Tojo, still heavily medicated by the herbs that Rafiki had given him. The tan cub was slumped against the wall of the den trying his best not to slip back into unconsciousness. His eyelids were heavy and suppressing yawns was much harder now that night time was almost here.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that Malka…..I just don't…..know what to…...do in this…..situ-," Tojo yawned and slumped down further, "-ation… I guess that you can start flirting with her in hopes that she starts noticing you."

Malka's eye lit up when he heard Tojo's suggestion.

"Yeah! that's a great idea!" Malka exclaimed the prince shot up with a smile on his face. He then turned to see Tojo right next to him. It was then that he saw big circle was drawn around Tojo's right eye and an ex over his left eye with berry juice. In addition, mud paw marks were all over his body.

"Tojo what happened to you!" Malka said.

"I don't really know….," Tojo mumbled rubbing his heavy eyes, "one minute I'm in Rafiki's tree downing herbs and the next I passed out again in the den." Tojo lied down again and started to fall asleep again.

"You know, Tojo you don't have to take that from Nala and Chumvi. You should stand up for yourself," Malka said leaning down his head to Tojo's level.

"Well, maybe another day but right now I'm just exhausted," Tojo said and he lied back down burying his muzzle into his paws. Malka rolled his eyes and laid down next to the tan cub.

"Oh, Tojo I think you just might be the wisest of us all," Malka remarked to himself.

* * *

Inky blackness surrounded Simba's vision. He could hear small voices whispering and feet padding along wet dirt. His fur stood on end as a gust of cold wind blew over his body. Then a blurry light came into view. The golden cub squinted as his eyes slowly started to interpret the world around him.

"Oh you're awake," a voice. Simba immediately tried to get up but his arms and legs were pinned to the floor. He looked around to see that he was tied down on his back to the floor of a large cave with vines. He looked over to the side to see that Kula was right next to him also struggling to get up.

"Don't bother trying to move, it'll only make the vines tighter eventually pulling you apart," the two cubs looked to the side to see Uchafu standing with several herbs in his hand.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Kula asked tears forming in her eyes.

"Lions," Uchafu said shaking his head, "you think that your above every other animal with your high and mighty attitude, dictating the lives of others…" the mole began a monologue, something that felt completely unnecessary by the two lion cubs. While looking to the side Simba saw a small sharp pointed rock. He also noticed that the moles had forgotten to tie his tail down. Slowly Simba brushed his tail over the sharp stone pulling it closer to his restrained body.

"The war that you celebrate every year is far more complicated than a battle between prides. I've been working for the king for years waiting for the right moment to strike," Uchafu finished.

"So what you're going to get back at our pride by making us forget about this day?" Simba scoffed, "we didn't even solve the mystery yet."

Uchafu laughed the herbs still in hand, "these won't make you forget about today, you'll actually forget about your entire existence once the poison fries your brain from the inside out." the two cub's eyes widened as the small mole whistled again. From the darkness of the sides of the cave, dozens of moles appeared surrounding the two cubs. At that point Simba swiped his tail flinging the sharp rock that was under it. Simba caught the rock with his paw and slashed the vines that were restraining his arm.

"NO! STOP THEM!" Uchafu screamed. Simba with his free paw cut himself free and then used his claws to free Kula. Kula sprung up knocking over the moles that were swarming her.

The two sprinted out of the main cave and into one of the various small tunnels of the large underground cave. The light faded from the main cavern as Simba and Kula ran into the tunnel.

"Simba wait!" Kula said as she stopped running when they reached far enough into the tunnel, "we have to be smart about this even if we escape this place the moles will just find us again."

"Your right," Simba sighed, "there's gotta be a way that makes sure that they can't get back to the surface." the two pondered on the thought.

"Those two brats, the one chance where I have the king's son in my grasp and you let is slip through my grasp," Uchafu's voice could be heard through the thin dirt walls. The two cub's sharp ears picked up the moles voice. Simba dug through the dirt making a small hole, he peered into the small hole to see the moles splitting up into groups and running into the tunnels.

"We have to keep moving, their splitting up," Simba said grabbing Kula's brown paw.

"Wait, look!" Kula said Simba looked back into the small hole, "look at that at dirt pillar it must be the way the cavern stays up. If we can knock it down we could keep the moles in the dirt forever."

"Great idea, but how are we gonna knock it down?" Simba asked raising his dark eyebrow. Kula smiled and pointed to the side. The golden cub looked to where she was pointed and he saw a large rock sitting on the top of a small slope.

"Perfect," Simba said, "I have a plan. Come on!" he grabbed Kula's paw and went deeper into the tunnels.

* * *

"Come out come out wherever you are," Uchafu said as he paced back and forth between the main cavern. By this point, the sun had completely set and the bright white moon cast a soft white light through several openings, "man I hate lions," the mole continued to mutter to himself, "so pushy and hair and man are they…"

"HEY UGLY!" a voice yelled. Uchafu looked up to see Kula standing in the entrance of one of the tunnels.

"If your gonna dis on lions you might want to catch me first!" the brown lioness taunted. Uchafu whistled and a troop of moles emerged from the ground. Immediately they charged at her.

"Simba now!" Kula screamed. The mole turned around in shock to see Simba at the top of the small slope pushing the rock over. Kula dashed out of the way and the moles scattered as the bolder collided with the dirt column smashing it into a cloud of dust blinding everyone.

Kula blindly ran as chunks of dirt and rock pelted her from above. Then she ran into a furry mass. She then felt a paw pick her up. Opening her eyes a bit she saw it was Simba.

"KULA COME ON THIS THING IS COLLAPSING!" the golden lion cub pulled her up and they rushed towards the exit.

"NO DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" the two heard Uchafu's frantic screams become drowned out by the dirt. Just as the entirety of the cave was about become buried the two lion cubs dove out a cloud of dust being expelled out with them.

Simba and Kula landed on the grass with a thud as the cold air of the night blew over them and a small shower of dirt fell. Kula opened her right eye to see the moonlight of the savannah and the many stars above.

Simba stood up dusting himself off, "you okay Kula?"

"YAYYY! WE DID IT!" Kula cheered bear hugging Simba. She then licked him on the cheek in excitement. The action of affection caused an awkward silence between the two.

" _First Nala and now Kula is giving me surprise kisses,"_ Simba thought his cheeks flushing a bright red.

"Sorry, I got a bit excited," Kula said blushing and stepping away from the golden cub.

"It's fine," Simba said while looking at his paws, "let's just find where that last clue was hinting at."

"Wait a minute," Kula stopped the Prince, "I was thinking, this entire mystery if uncovered will ruin Tama's reputation. Do we really want that on our conscience." The brown lioness cub asked.

"Well she was bothering us maybe she deserves to be knocked down a peg," Simba pointed out.

"But does that make us better than her," Kula said. Simba sighed and a silence settled on the two.

"You know what your right," Simba agreed with the brown lioness, "giving her a reaction is what she wants. Besides, it's late." The golden cub looked at Pride Rock in the night sky. The two then made their way back home for the night.

* * *

According to tradition the last activity before the Pridelands and the Mountain Lands would separate was a great feast that lasted from the morning to evening. Of course, the cubs reacted to this with glee, especially the queen of food herself Kula. All of the cubs enjoyed themselves nevertheless. The day was coming to a close and all the cubs lying on the ground basking in the last of the sunlight before it was coming to a close.

"That was the best meal I've ever had," Kula said as she rubbed the length of her stomach, "and coming from me that's saying a lot." The other cubs agreed with her statement except for Tojo who was still under the effects of Rafiki's herbal treatment. The tan cub was knocked out for the majority of the day and when he did wake up he was very drowsy and delirious. Wich was fun to mess around with.

"Well I must say that I had a fun time as well," Tama said with a smile, "and I saved the best zebra leg for last." she took the leg and bit into its juicy side savoring the taste. Then her eyes shot open and tears began to swell up in her eyes. "AHHH HOTTTTTTTT!" Tama screamed as she ran off to the water hole desperate to get water into her burning mouth.

"Geez, what's her problem," Chumvi said picking up the zebra leg he sniffed it before realizing what was wrong with it, "hey there's black peppers rubbed all over this thing."

Simba and Kula exchanged mischievous glances with each other.

"Huh that's weird," Simba said.

"Yup, why would someone do that," Kula asked.

In the next hour, the Mountain Landers had gathered together and left the Pride Lands and into the desert of the night. Standing at the border was Simba, Nala, Chumvi, Kula, and Mufasa. Tojo had already passed out and gone into a food coma.

"Well, I guess that's the end of partying," Chumvi sighed.

"Chumvi, your such a downer," Nala said, "Malka will still visit us every so often, and the Pride Lands will still have a ton of adventures waiting for us."

"You cubs always seem to find the most absurd ways to get into trouble," Mufasa commented the four cubs turned their heads to look up to the king, "but I can't say that I wasn't the same way when I was a cub. I'm sure Sarabi has already told you of that." the five of them chuckled as they began their walk back to Pride Rock. The sun disappearing underneath the horizon and ending another adventure.

 **AN: And that concludes this fanfic. Again I apologize for the late publish but this was a long one. I should have the next story out soon.**


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